Perseverance and Prayer

"If there be in the land famine, if there be pestilence, blasting, mildew, locust, or if there be caterpiller; if their enemy besiege them in the land of their cities; whatsoever plague, whatsoever sickness there be; What prayer and supplication soever be made by any man, or by all thy people Israel, which shall know every man the plague of his own heart, and spread forth his hands toward this house: Then hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and do, and give to every man according to his ways, whose heart thou knowest; [for thou, even thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men;]" (I Kin. 8:37-39). There is some really powerful truth revealed in this passage taken from Solomon's dedication prayer after he had the temple of the Lord built. First of all he made petition to God for his people in the time of affliction that they may find themselves in at a future point. The connotation is that the afflictions that are mentioned would probably be due to the people's sins and rebellion against the Lord. So Solomon requests of the Lord to forgive his people's transgressions when they would pray to him in honesty and humility, looking toward his temple and dwelling among them. Then there's the ever powerful statement of God being the only one who really knows the hearts of men. That is surely one of the most powerful truths in existence, and one of the best truths in existence for those whose hearts are toward God, regardless of what their current spiritual state may be. When Jesus came here there were a lot of good hearts that were currently in bad places, but when they looked to Jesus for forgiveness they were not turned away. One of the most memorable people was the woman who washed Jesus' feet with her tears, and dried them with her hair (Lk. 7:36-50). She was known in the city, not for righteousness and good report, but for wickedness and ill report. Yet when she put her faith in Jesus, and sought his grace with honesty and humility, he responded by forgiving her of all trespasses and sending her away in peace.

Those who were present when this took place thought that the woman was just wicked because her life had not shown a whole lot else. They made the mistake of judging her according to the appearance, and they failed to remember that God alone knows the hearts of men (Jn. 7:24). As it was then, so it is now, that many of God's people have been guilty of many transgressions, and some are wallowing in repeated failure at this moment. And as was the case with the woman I've mentioned, demon spirits like the Pharisees who condemned the woman, are condemning God's children today; making them feel as though they are only wicked, on the basis that they have done a whole lot of wrong. The good news is that God knows the hearts of his children better than they themselves know them. For those who truly desire forgiveness and freedom, Jesus stands ready to give just that to all who will seek and believe him in honesty and humility. God answered Solomon's dedication prayer for the temple with a resounding 'yes, and as I've shown, Jesus granted forgiveness and pardon to the woman who humbled herself to him. So God was more than willing to forgive his people's sins in the old testament, even when he had afflicted them for their rebellion. And Jesus was willing to forgive his people of their trespasses when he was here. How much more will he forgive his people's sins now, and send them forth in peace as he did that woman; seeing that he has now suffered and died to pay the ultimate and total cost for all sins of all men for all time? Why do I belabor a point that seems to be a given? Because so many of God's people today remain condemned for things that God has forgiven them for. Condemning demon spirits would have God's children today believe that God is less forgiving now than he was during the old testament, or when Jesus was here before he suffered and died.

Demons are very crafty in their devices, and the deception is that it's not about Jesus, but rather it's about how bad our particular sins are. But I say again that the good news is that God knows your hearts better than you do, and if you are seeking to be in good standing with God then I'll bet the house that your heart is better than you think it is. I believe that is what God sees, and I believe it by means of much observation and experience over a long period of time. The devil wants us to believe that we are something that we are not, which is evil like himself. The woman who washed the feet of Jesus with her tears wasn't evil even when she was in stark wickedness, and she manifested that when she got in the presence of Jesus. She did not change from evil to good when she met Jesus, but rather Jesus brought out the goodness of her heart that was trapped under much weakness to sin. So let me encourage anyone and everyone who may be struggling, that if you are doubting yourself, and you are reading this article, then I am certain that your heart is better than what you believe it to be. God is not the one who would cause us to question our heart, seeing he has given us a renewed heart and mind (Ezek. 36:26; II Cor. 5:17). God would have us approach his Son with the same faith, and honesty, and humility that Solomon asked him to accept from his people in time of trouble, and that Jesus accepted from the woman of ill repute. If we have been plagued because of our sins, then God will forgive us and deliver us from the plague, even as he did for his people of old whom Solomon requested for. If men doubt us and condemn us because we have failed, Jesus will forgive us, give us peace, and thereby rebuke the condemnation of men and demon spirits; even as he did with the woman who washed his feet. I've got good news for you my friends; God is for us, and he proved it once and for all when he allowed his Son to suffer and die for all that we could ever do wrong, and for all that we could ever have wrong with us. God bless.